The Ultimate Cookie: Brown Butter, Passion Fruit Chocolate, Walnut & Sea Salt

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Instead of dark chocolate in this Dominique Ansel cookie recipe, I used Valrhona Passion Fruit chocolate feves.
Instead of dark chocolate in this Dominique Ansel cookie recipe, I used Valrhona Passion Fruit chocolate feves.

Does the world need another chocolate chip cookie recipe?

Absolutely, if it’s one by legendary pastry chef Dominique Ansel.

After all, the man who originated the croissant-donut mashup, the Cronut, definitely knows his stuff when it comes to baked goods.

This cookie recipe, which I took one liberty with, comes from his newest cookbook, “Life’s Sweetest Moments” (Harvest, 2024), of which I received a review copy.

He may be a James Beard Award-winning pastry chef whom Food & Wine magazine dubbed a “Culinary Van Gough,” but rest assured that this collection is designed for the home-cook with 40 recipes ranging from the easy to those that will require a little more time and effort.

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A Visit to Merced, Part II: Hi-Fi Wine and Vista Ranch

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Visit Hi-Fi Wine to discover a unique tasting room devoted to boutique wines.
Visit Hi-Fi Wine to discover a unique tasting room devoted to boutique wines.

Merced, CA — During the pandemic, while the rest of us were binging Netflix and trying to keep sourdough starters alive, Tracy Proietti was dreaming up her ideal wine shop, Hi-Fi Wine.

In 2019, the former lawyer and middle school language arts teacher moved from Baltimore where she lived in a historic building above a wine shop. With time on her hands when life shut down during Covid, she and her mother, her business partner, set about creating this inviting wine bar and shop.

Opened in May 2022, the light-filled, cozy community gathering spot was designed to be a place where wine was eminently approachable.

Lawyer-turned wine shop owner Tracy Proietti.
Lawyer-turned wine shop owner Tracy Proietti.

A restored hi-fi that has a variety of LPs to play is the focal point that gave the establishment its name — for good reason.

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A Visit to Merced, Part I: El Capitan Hotel, Rainbird Restaurant, and Mainzer Restaurant

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Terrific ricotta pancakes with blueberry compote at Rainbird restaurant at the El Capitan Hotel.
Terrific ricotta pancakes with blueberry compote at Rainbird restaurant at the El Capitan Hotel.

Merced, CA — This San Joaquin Valley town has long been known as the “Gateway to Yosemite” from as far back as when stagecoaches and the Central Pacific Railroad turned it into a major transportation hub. Nowadays, most folks make the journey between the two by car, which will take close to 2 hours (if Highway 140 is open).

As many times as I’ve visited Yosemite, I had never stopped in Merced. But I had the opportunity to do just that last month when I was invited for a stay as a guest of the landmark El Capitan Hotel.

Opened in 2021 after three years of construction, it may be downtown Merced’s newest hotel to open, but it wisely maintains links to its history.

The original El Capitan was built a block away in 1872 as a waystop for travelers continuing on to Yosemite. In 1900, however it was razed by the railroad company to make way for a railroad stop. It was later rebuilt at its current location of M and Main Streets in 1912, and restored after a fire ravaged it in the 1930s.

The hotel is a mix of old and new.
The hotel is a mix of old and new.
The stylish common area in the hotel.
The stylish common area in the hotel.
An antique piece that used to hold room keys and messages at the original hotel on the site.
An antique piece that used to hold room keys and messages at the original hotel on the site.

The 114-room boutique hotel is largely new construction, but connects with the original annex in the back. Wander back there, and you’ll even find an antique furniture piece from the early 1900s with slots that once held room keys and written messages.

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The Aptly Named “Pasta To Make When You’re Not Near the Sea (But Wish You Were)”

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This lemony, briny, and buttery pasta comes together easily with pantry items.
This lemony, briny, and buttery pasta comes together easily with pantry items.

It says it all that I’ve happily made “Pasta to Make When You’re Not Near the Sea (But Wish You Were)” three times already.

And it’s not because I’m longing to be near the water.

It’s simply because it’s such a thoroughly satisfying pasta dish that’s easy enough to make on a whim.

The recipe is from “Le Sud” (Chronicle Books, 2024), of which I received a review copy.

Rebekah Peppler, a Paris-based writer and stylist, wrote the cookbook to highlight recipes from Provence- Alpes-Cote D’Azur, the southern region of France where the French throng for holidays. The 12,000-square-mile region is bounded in the north by the Southern Alps, to the south by the French Mediterranean, the east by Italy, and the west by the Rhone River. As the book illustrates with beautiful photos of the crystalline sea, it’s a postcard come to life.

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Women Getting It Done, Part II: Sherri Wood of Capay Valley Lavender Farm

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The irrepressible Sherri Wood in front of one of her stills at her Capay Valley Lavender Farm.
The irrepressible Sherri Wood in front of one of her stills at her Capay Valley Lavender Farm.

Capay, CA — No one will ever accuse Sherri Wood of lacking gumption or audacity.

After years of working in investment banking, she pivoted to the non-profit world, becoming national founder and chair of One Warm Coat, president of the Girl Scouts of Northern California, and board member of St. Anthony Foundation in San Francisco.

Then, at age 64, when most folks would have eased into retirement, the former San Franciscan went full throttle in the other direction. She started a farm. With no farming experience whatsoever.

And that’s how Capay Valley Lavender Farm came to be in rural Capay that has a population of all of 300.

A bouquet of dried lavender from her farm.
A bouquet of dried lavender from her farm.

“I had no idea that I would do this,” she told me when I visited last month. “But it’s not in my nature to take it easy. I like challenges.

“Plus,” she quipped, “it helps with my golf game.”

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